Vampyr [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Overview

"Vampyr ranks in many circles as one of the greatest horror films of all time. Inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, the story concerns a mysterious series of killings, committed by a crone of a female vampire (Henriette Gerard). The story is told through the eyes of a holiday reveller (Julian West), who at first scoffs at the notion of a supernatural murderer, but who is eventually forced to believe that there are more things in heaven and earth. Dreyer offers few explanations of the phenomena he presents on screen: the strange and frightening happenings just happen, as casually as any everyday occurrence. As was his custom, Dreyer mostly uses nonprofessionals in his cast. Vampyr is available in a wide variety of severely edited and duped versions."

Product Details

Release Date:	10/03/2017
UPC:	0715515204910
Original Release:	1932
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:13:00
Sales rank:	8,208

Special Features

High-definition digital transfer of the original German-language version of the film from the 1998 restoration by Martin Koerber and the Cineteca di Bologna, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; Alternate version with English text; Audio commentary from 2008 featuring film scholar Tony Rayns; Carl Th. Dreyer, a 1966 documentary by Jørgen Roos chronicling Dreyer's career; Video essay from 2008 by scholar Casper Tybjerg on Dreyer's influnces in creating Vampyr; Radio broadcast from 1958 of Dreyer reading an essay about filmmaking

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sybille Schmitz	Léone
Henriette Gerard	The Woman from the Cemetery
Rena Mandel	Gisèle
Julian West	Allan Grey
Jan Hieronimko	Doctor
Maurice Schutz	Lord of the Manor
Albert Bras	Servant
N. Babanini	The Girl
Jane Mora	The Religious Woman
Nicolas DeGunzberg	David Gray
Wolfgang Zeller	Composer

Technical Credits

Carl-Theodor Dreyer

Christen Jul

Carl-Theodor Dreyer	Screenwriter,Producer,Director
Christen Jul	Screenwriter
Baron Nicolas de Gunzberg	Producer
Julian West	Producer
Nicolas DeGunzberg	Producer

Editorial Reviews

After making the wrenchingly poignant silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc, Danish director Carl Dreyer (Day of Wrath) here made his mark on the horror genre. A student of the occult finds himself enmeshed in supernatural goings-on at an inn near Paris in this obliquely nightmarish movie, which relies on disturbing imagery, intricate sound effects, and highly creative editing to work its not inconsiderable magic. For serious collections. High-def digital transfer.
—Jeff T. Dick

Library Journal